South By Southwest (SXSW) – Final Thoughts

Check out the Flickr stream provided by Chad Hutchens for more pics from the conference and Austin.

South by Southwest Interactive was well worth the time and money. TERRA: the nature of our world didn’t win the finals, but I was pretty happy just to be competing in this race. In terms of new ideas for digital library apps, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so full of ideas after a conference. Some possibilities: microformats integrated into results pages, digital document delivery based on XML, blip.tv api to leverage distribution of digital library videos… It was great to get outside of the library community and Austin was lots o’ fun as well. As conferences go, the price wasn’t steep – under $250 with food and drink options every night. If you get the chance, step outside your library comfort zone. It’ll work wonders.